Norman Clifford Bowler (born 1 August 1932) is an English actor, best known for his role as Frank Tate in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

''.

Early life

Norman Clifford Bowler was born on 1 August 1932 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. His father, Clifford Norman Bowler (1899–1993), a watchmaker and jeweller, had a shop at 54 Mill Lane, West Hampstead, London, where he is commemorated by a plaque.

Career

Bowler was a regular star of the ATV soap series ''

Harpers West One ''Harpers West One'' was an ATV television drama series about a fictional department store, Harpers, in the West 1 district of London. The show was created by John Whitney and Geoffrey Bellman and ran in one-hour episodes from 1961 to 1963. I ...

'', playing the character of Roger Pike, and played a variety of bit parts and single episode roles on television throughout the 1960s, including an episode of ''

Gideon's Way ''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series made by ITC Entertainment and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, based on novels by John Creasey (writing as 'J. J. Marric'). The series was made at Elstree Studios in twin production with '' ...

''. He featured in an episode of '' The Avengers'' and starred alongside

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

in the 1968 war film '' Submarine X-1'', about

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

British midget submarines. From 1966 to 1976, Bowler played Det. Chief Inspector Harry Hawkins for the entire run of the BBC TV police drama '' Softly, Softly'' (later '' Softly, Softly: Taskforce''). He also appeared as Titinius in ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'' (1970), as Saturninus in ''

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

'' (1977), as Bill Smugs in ''The Island of Adventure'' (1982), and as Moose in the

Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...

film ''

They Call Me Renegade ''They Call Me Renegade'' is a 1987 road movie directed by E.B. Clucher and starring Terence Hill and his adoptive son Ross. Plot summary "Renegade" Luke (Hill), a drifter and petty con artist, lives a free and easy life with no responsibility t ...

'' (1987). After a continuing role in ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' from 1986 to 1987, he later played the part of Frank Tate in the

soap opera ''

'' from November 1989 to May 1997. Frank's death was one of the most iconic episodes of ''Emmerdale'', when he was left to die of a heart attack on the floor of his beloved Home Farm. Bowler has been active in

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

work and

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

. With his third wife, Dianne, he spent several years at Auroville International Township in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, India. There he engaged in

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

work with people in the surrounding Tamil villages and often entertained the village children. He also worked with and directed, the amateur actors of the township. In August 2012, Bowler released a recorded reading of

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...

's ''

Rime of the Ancient Mariner ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' (originally ''The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere'') is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–1798 and published in 1798 in the first edition of ''Lyrical Ballad ...

'' to raise money for The Auroville Trust.

Personal life

Bowler became a member of the 1950s

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

set alongside John Minton,

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

and

Daniel Farson Daniel James Negley Farson (8 January 1927 – 27 November 1997) was a British writer and broadcaster, strongly identified with the early days of commercial television in the UK, when his sharp, investigative style contrasted with the BBC's mor ...

. There he met Henrietta Moraes, who divorced her first husband, Michael Law, and married Bowler. This marriage ended in 1956. The pair had two children, Joshua and Caroline, although many years later it transpired that Joshua's father was actually

Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner Colin Christopher Paget Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner (1 December 1926 – 27 August 2010) was a British aristocrat. He was the son of Christopher Grey Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner, and Pamela Winefred Paget. He was also the nephew of Edward ...

. Berjourhi Bowler, his second wife, mother of Tamara, and Bowler were divorced in 1969, after 10 years of marriage. Bowler's third wife Dianne died in December 2012. He continues to alternate between India and the UK.

Filmography

*''

Tom Thumb Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tan ...

'' (1958) – (uncredited) *'' Submarine X-1'' (1969) – Sub. Lt. Pennington *''

Softly, Softly (TV series) ''Softly, Softly'' is a British television police procedural series produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It was created as a spin-off from the series ''Z-Cars'', which ended its fifth series run in December 1965. The seri ...

'' 1966 - DS Harry Hawkins *''

'' (1970) – Titinius *''

'' (1977, TV Mini-Series) – Saturninus *''The Island of Adventure'' (1982) – Bill Smugs * ''

The Forgotten Story ''The Forgotten Story'' is a 1945 historical novel by the British novel Winston Graham. In the late nineteenth century a barquentine crashes on the rocks of the Cornish coast. Adaptations Dylan Thomas was commissioned to write an adaptation of t ...

'' (1983, TV series) – Ship's officer *''

'' (1987) – Moose *''Destroying Angel'' (1990) – Tom Berto *''Living in Hope'' (2002) – Dad (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowler, Norman 1932 births Living people Male actors from London English male television actors